Removal proceedings vs. Abandoning residency

[NikkisPrecious 0]

For those that may of read my previous post ( http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...;#entry3687818) i was in a right pickle! I'm still unsure what to do, i don't know if i should try to apply from here in the uk or just let the removal proceedings begin. My main questions today are... was EXACTLY does removal proceedings entale? Will i be removed (even though i'm in the uk) and lose certain rights? or once removed thats it i'm just like a UK citizen again. Or would it be better for me to just abandon residency and start all over. I would love to keep my permanant status so that i can return to the US to live and work but don't know if its really possible. Maybe it would be better for me to just abandon residence status and apply for a visiting visa so i can just come and see my friends every now and then.

I know this case is a complete headache but any help i much appreciated. I've looked into booking an immigration attorny over here in the UK but i can't afford £500 for a consultation

[payxibka 10,044]

Once they learn that you are not present in the USA... then any removal proceedings will cease...

[NikkisPrecious 0]

and then my residency is invalid and i'm just back to being a normal UK citizen. So i can just do nothing, if my card has expired and i'm no longer in the US i'm not on the books anymore so to speak? Or should i go and abandon my residency?

I guess if my card has expired i've kind of abandoned the residency anyway right?

[NikkisPrecious 0]

I don't know if anyone has anymore thoughts but i think the best thing would be to hand in my card, and start fresh at least that way i could travel, coz if i just leave it and say nothing to the uscis they will ask me at the POE why my card is expired and probably get deported

[Minya's wife 24]

I don't know if anyone has anymore thoughts but i think the best thing would be to hand in my card, and start fresh at least that way i could travel, coz if i just leave it and say nothing to the uscis they will ask me at the POE why my card is expired and probably get deported

Essentially, yes. But I'm curious, why did/do you want to remove conditions of your residency if you're back in your home country and have no intention of living in the US beyond 'visiting friends'. You can do that with a tourist visa, or your Visa Waiver privileges (if they still extend to you...not sure there)?

Where you already in the UK when you filed initially without the payment or did you leave after? In essence, by leaving without having removed conditions, or having received the NOA1 (extension letter) you already technically abandoned residency. Perhaps you should look into the procedure to officially turn in your expired green-card. The US consulate in the UK may be able to help you with this process.

good luck,

[Otto 83]

I don't know if anyone has anymore thoughts but i think the best thing would be to hand in my card, and start fresh at least that way i could travel, coz if i just leave it and say nothing to the uscis they will ask me at the POE why my card is expired and probably get deported

The following link may assist you in 'handing in your card.' If that is what you would like to do - it would be the way to let the USCIS know you've left.

[NikkisPrecious 0]

Essentially, yes. But I'm curious, why did/do you want to remove conditions of your residency if you're back in your home country and have no intention of living in the US beyond 'visiting friends'. You can do that with a tourist visa, or your Visa Waiver privileges (if they still extend to you...not sure there)?

Where you already in the UK when you filed initially without the payment or did you leave after? In essence, by leaving without having removed conditions, or having received the NOA1 (extension letter) you already technically abandoned residency. Perhaps you should look into the procedure to officially turn in your expired green-card. The US consulate in the UK may be able to help you with this process.

good luck,

I did want to remove my conditions so that i would have a 10 year visa so i could live back in USA, but my chances of that are so slim its unreal (marriage broke down, no tax returns, no evidence, it was a legit marriage but we separated so soon after getting the visa). I've decided it will probably be best to just hand in my green card and when i want to visit friends i can just use the VWP. Because if i was to go now to visit friends with nothing but an expired Green card i think they'll send me home. Whereas if i hand it in say look i don;t want to be a resident anymore i just want to visit, i'll be ok for future visits.

I think its better off sending the green card back than just leaving things in limbo you know

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

I just went through the painful experience of reading 4 pages of fairly meaningless posts, until I got tot the last one: JimVaPhoung gave you a $350 response, free of charge.

To this point, I'm not even sure if you are divorced or not, but it doesn't matter much anymore now. Your GC is dead, you are out of the country, you did not submit an I-751 . . . basically, you are now back at square 0, not 1.

Send a letter to USCIS with proof that you left the US before your GC expired. That's all you can do at this point. Next time you'll be entering the US as a tourist. You made so many mistakes along the way that there is no way to revive your LPR status. You can't just do things as important as immigration as carelessly as you did. Sorry.

[NikkisPrecious 0]

I just went through the painful experience of reading 4 pages of fairly meaningless posts, until I got tot the last one: JimVaPhoung gave you a $350 response, free of charge.

To this point, I'm not even sure if you are divorced or not, but it doesn't matter much anymore now. Your GC is dead, you are out of the country, you did not submit an I-751 . . . basically, you are now back at square 0, not 1.

Send a letter to USCIS with proof that you left the US before your GC expired. That's all you can do at this point. Next time you'll be entering the US as a tourist. You made so many mistakes along the way that there is no way to revive your LPR status. You can't just do things as important as immigration as carelessly as you did. Sorry.

I'm going to abandon my card doing this ( http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/uscis/abandon.html) then at least this way i can use the VWP in the future. I'm sorry that the 4 pages were painful for you however a few months ago this was a very pressing issue for me and a hard time going through such sh*t with a loved one, but thanks for your input anyway

Edited March 2, 2010 by NikkisPrecious

[TracyTN 237]

I did want to remove my conditions so that i would have a 10 year visa so i could live back in USA, but my chances of that are so slim its unreal (marriage broke down, no tax returns, no evidence, it was a legit marriage but we separated so soon after getting the visa).

Just to be nitpicky, but there's no such thing as a 10 year visa. 10 year green card, yes.

[NikkisPrecious 0]

Just to be nitpicky, but there's no such thing as a 10 year visa. 10 year green card, yes.

lol omg

[TracyTN 237]

Hey I admitted to being nitpicky! LOL

[HannahP 119]

I just went through the painful experience of reading 4 pages of fairly meaningless posts, until I got tot the last one: JimVaPhoung gave you a $350 response, free of charge.

To this point, I'm not even sure if you are divorced or not, but it doesn't matter much anymore now. Your GC is dead, you are out of the country, you did not submit an I-751 . . . basically, you are now back at square 0, not 1.

Send a letter to USCIS with proof that you left the US before your GC expired. That's all you can do at this point. Next time you'll be entering the US as a tourist. You made so many mistakes along the way that there is no way to revive your LPR status. You can't just do things as important as immigration as carelessly as you did. Sorry.

Um...pot, meet kettle? Most people on here manage to not become out of status for years, too...talk about careless.

[Boiler 43,629]

You could not afford to file, but you could afford to fly home

You can not afford a consultation with an Immigration Lawyer, but you can afford a trip to the US.

An odd sense of priorities.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Hannah,

not that it is any of your business as we are not discussing my history here, but I spent -- literally -- close to $12K on my immigration matters throughout those years, trying to find even the slightest legal way to change my status. Had there been an option to obtain a Green Card for a fine of $50,000, I would have done it, just like tens of thousands of other immigrants, and the US koffers wouldn't be as empty as they are now and immigration-related fees could be much lower for the rest.

Unfortunately the US immigration system is still family based, and since I did not want to get married just to get a Green Card, I had to wait until I met the right one, my now wife, and was able to adjust status.

All the while, I have probably paid more income taxes at any given year I was out of status than the majority of legal immigrants do to this day.

Not sure what you feel was careless about that; I rather like to think that I cared as much as humanly possible and I can assure you that there wasn't a day where I wasn't aware of my situation, trying to think of what else I could possibly do to change it. As you may have noticed, I even won the Green Card Lottery! Still, 3 immigration attorneys took advantage of me, charging me for empty promises but never delivered. I trusted them, always hoping for the best.

These experiences combined, and because I do care, I am able to provide -- hopefully -- valuable input to a few others on VJ.